If not, you need to stop re-inventing the wheel for every customer’s whim … and start working more efficiently.  This way you can focus on building long-term relationships and getting repeat business.

Many new computer repair entrepreneurs are so excited to get up and running that they don’t develop streamlined documents for working with customers and clients.   Then, when business picks up, they realize there really isn’t time in the day to start from scratch every time a new customer comes in the door.  It’s really important to your company’s future to plan and customize  computer repair business forms, so you can better organize the work you do.  This way, you’ll be able to respond quickly and efficiently to client needs as your business grows and changes.

At the minimum, you’ll need 3 important computer repair business forms if you want to attract long-term small business clients.

1. Rate Card Template. Developing a very clear and concise rate card should be one of your main priorities as you start your computer repair company.  If you want to attract long-term clients and move beyond the short-term payout of one-shot deal customers, make sure you aim to have a roster full of clients on annual service/repair agreements.  In order to attract these types of clients, make sure your  rate card template stresses the EXTREME difference between annual service agreement rates and regular, “pay-as-you-go” rates.  Make sure your rate card focuses on the benefits you provide to your long-term clients such as prioritized response time, emergency service, monthly planning sessions, etc. at no extra cost.   A properly-designed rate card accomplishes a variety of goals sets the tone for your level of professionalism, fully discloses and clearly communicates your fees, ensures that you are fairly compensated for after-hours and emergency repair services, allows you to bill more for highly-skilled work, and reinforces the value proposition of your long-term, annual repair agreement.
2. Annual Service Agreement Template. Many technology repair professionals don’t realize how crucial it is to base their businesses on serving long-term clients.  When you have a roster of clients that have agreed to entrust you with their on-going maintenance needs, you get steady, predictable revenue and give your clients the benefit of knowing they have someone there on a weekly, monthly and annual basis to take care of their complex technology needs.  Service agreements provide the foundation to develop long-term mutually-beneficial relationships, so you know where your next billable project is coming from at all times.   This way, you can plan your growth and stop scrambling to find the next short-term customer.  So, you really need to include an annual service agreement template in your list of computer repair business forms.
3. Change Order Form. Even with the most thorough up-front needs analysis and project planning, your clients will inevitably come up with additional work items once a major project is underway.  These “oh, by the way” types of items are why you need a change order form.  You may not think so at first, but change orders can make or break a project.  And the “make” or “break” really depends on how well you are able to handle the requests.  At a bare minimum, change orders require anywhere from minor to major revisions to any time and materials budgets in initial proposals and price quotes.  Change orders also can monumentally impact projected milestones and estimated completion dates.  In order to protect you and your clients, and manage their expectations, you need to establish from the outset how you and your clients will deal with change order requests.  Change order forms can also help you discourage clients from making little changes on a regular basis; they will have to think before they act and ask themselves, “Is the desired change really worth the cost of the change order?”

In this article, we talked about 3 important forms every PC repair company needs to help efficiently and profitably run a business and build more long-term client relationships.  Learn more about how to use computer repair business forms to attract steady, high-paying clients now at  www.ComputerRepairBusinessForms.com

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1. Build Your Confidence by Planning Ahead. The best way to manage your IT services contract relationships is to figure out exactly what you can do today and throughout the course of the year. Inventory your services and skills. Then look at what your competitors offer. Where are the gaps? Which of your services would be most useful to a small business with a real network and advanced IT needs? A well-planned IT services contract business program is one that takes into account not only what you can offer. But it also takes in account what you can offer that no one else in your area is offering. In other words, create valuable services that address your competitors’ deficiencies.

2. Build Your Confidence by Gaining Real Experience. As you start to offer IT service contracts, go slowly until you build up your confidence level. Confidence will not come from excessive technology training or from reading a report or preparing a well thought-out contract template. You only get experience when you just dive in and start selling contracts and providing long-term solutions to small business clients. Ease into larger accounts by starting small. Don’t turn down a large opportunity if it falls in your lap. But know that the best way to start is to go with accounts that are on the small side, but can still afford your premium services.

3. Remember That Certifications Are Not Vital. Most small businesses do not have formal in-house IT departments. They are also typically a few years behind the curve when it comes to technology. This means you and your technicians don’t need to have advanced certifications or skills on brand-new software versions. In fact, your clients will probably see advanced skills as an unnecessary quality that makes them feel they are paying you too much to fulfill their simple IT needs. Imagine going to a cardiothoracic surgeon just to get your blood pressure checked. In terms of which certifications you will need to feel confident about your IT services contract program, a basic MCP credential (Microsoft Certified Professional) or something equivalent is usually sufficient.

Proving ground projects can really help you qualify your prospects and customers to see if they will make good clients.  

Some Tips about Proving Ground Projects that lead to a Computer Maintenance Agreement

1.    What is a proving ground project?  A proving ground project is the first project computer consultants complete with a new customer that is not yet on a computer maintenance agreement.  Its purpose is to help a consultant prove he/she is knowledgeable, dependable, easy to work with and provides a solution that’s a good value.  Prospects and customers use proving ground projects to show they have reasonable expectations, a compatible personality type and will be willing to pay for services and potentially a computer maintenance agreement.
    
2.    Watch carefully during proving ground projects for signs that things might not work out well with a longer-term relationship.  You need to make sure you are watchful during the initial project with a new prospect or customer.  If all goes well for you during this time, you could next be enjoying the benefits of an on-going computer maintenance agreement.

3.    Red flags that signify a potentially BAD future client:  constant mind changing; lateness for meetings, etc.; verbal abuse towards employees; a belief that the “rules” of your normal engagements do not apply to them.
 
If you want to have a successful computer maintenance agreement with each of your clients, you need to use your proving ground project to try out the relationship and make sure it’s going to work long term.

To learn more important information about the computer maintenance agreement, visit the attached link!

Submitted By:  Joshua Feinberg

1.    In order to realize your goal of 100% of your clients on annual IT service contracts, you need to overcome some common sales hurdles.  A lot of times you’ll run into customers that are way too small or way too small minded to really see the value of your recommendations.  But if you DON’T find those right clients that WILL see things your way, you will not be able to realize your full potential.  

2.     The way you present your solutions is integral to getting customers to become clients on IT service contracts.  You have to do way more than just knowing to stay away from cheapskates and deadbeats that will never have long-term relationships with your firm.  You can’t be afraid to actively move towards a 100% support contract-centric business.   

3.    You can’t let customers and clients tell you how to do business.  You need to get rid of the one-sided deal mentality and start managing your customers and clients by providing mutually-beneficial IT service contracts and truly sophisticated solutions.

4.    You need to do everything in your power to present yourself as a professional services firm that demands top rates like any other great consulting firm, VAR company, integrator firm or solution provider business.  You are NOT a charity, and you need to make this clear by making getting all your clients on IT service contracts a priority and a real goal.

Today we talked about the importance of IT service contracts.  To learn more about how you can strengthen your business and get recurring revenue, visit the attached link.

Added By:  Joshua Feinberg

What is a Proving Ground Project?

Proving ground projects are an initial step in the process of setting the stage for service contracts.  They are the first projects computer consultants complete with new customers that are not yet steady clients.  Consultants use them to prove they know what they are doing, are dependable and good to work with and offer good value.  They are also a time for computer consultants to figure out if their customers will be the right type to sign long-term service contracts.

Keep an Eye out for Warning Signs

If all goes well during the proving ground project, service contracts are a real possibility.  However, make sure if you are a computer consultant that you are very vigilant during the proving ground project so you don’t start a long-term relationship that is doomed.

Some warning signs include …

1.    Customers that change their minds constantly;

2.    Customers that are late for meetings;

3.    Those that are verbally abusive to employees … or to you as a computer consultant;

4.    Customers that feel “above” the rules of relationships.  

The main point is, you CANNOT rush into a relationship that involves service contracts until you figure out you truly can work well with a prospect or customer.  Proving ground projects can help you gauge expectations and how well things are going to work.

Today we talked about why proving ground projects are necessary before you introduce service contracts to computer consulting clients.  To learn more about service contracts, visit the attached link.

Added By:  Joshua Feinberg

When you have a good service agreement document (created from high-quality services agreement samples), you display professionalism and credibility, which are two traits your prospects, customers and clients will be looking for as you build a professional relationship.  Well-crafted legal documents help you break down sales resistance and get the high billing rates you deserve for your sophisticated IT services.  When you can better package your services, you close more sales and get more recurring revenue for your business.

Today we talked about how you can use services agreements samples to strengthen your IT consulting business and relationships with valuable clients.  To learn more about how you can find great service agreements samples to get you started, visit the attached link.

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Besides creating a steady stream of recurring revenue for your business that can help you create a more predictable business, which other benefits can you receive from computer service agreements and templates?

1.    You establish mutually-acceptable billing charges that help you stay around long term.

2.    You clarify your responsibilities and the responsibilities of your clients up front to build better relationships.

3.    You set ground rules for when your company will get paid so you get paid in full and on time.

4.    You save money on legal fees; by the time your attorney reviews your support contracts, a lot of the work has already been done.
5.    You save a lot of valuable work time when you have computer service agreements and templates that give you a proven business blueprint.  You’ll never have to reinvent the wheel and will save yourself months and sometimes years of frustration and mistakes.

 
6.    You build a strong foundation for your business of steady, high-paying clients and NOT one-shot deals and cheapskates or moochers.  

7.    You provide a framework for building long-term, successful client relationships that will stay healthy for years.

8.    You design easier-to-support systems and encourage GOOD client behavior.

Today we looked at computer service agreements and how using these along with trusted templates can help you more efficiently run your business.  Make sure to sign up for the free sample excerpts about computer service agreements NOW at the Computer Consulting Kit site!

Added By:  Joshua Feinberg

Why?  Basically, you’ll spend a great deal of money and more importantly TIME getting certified and learning cutting-edge technologies.  But, when it comes down to it, computer repair – hardware repair – is a commodity and can be an incredibly low-margin situation.  As hardware becomes more disposable and replaceable, less people even engage in real computer repair.  And, computer repair contracts and IT consulting contracts in general with national service organizations just don’t work.

Disposable Hardware

As an example, think about a $600 consumer-grade PC.  Who will spend money on computer repair for this type of hardware when it has passed its warranty point?  And who will spend money to fix an out-of-warranty $400 laser printer?  Not many small businesses would do this, and neither would national service organizations.  

Low Labor Allowances

National service organizations usually will be dealing with warranty repairs on pretty inexpensive hardware … so how much labor allowance will be available for computer repair on a $1,200 laptop?  A lot of big hardware vendors are usually close to going out of business.  Unless you’re Dell, HP and IBM and are a vendor, you probably will be depending heavily on these low-end repairs to stay in business.

What is the Profit Margin on Computer Repair Contracts?

Think about it – you will probably not make much more than $50-$200 (at the absolute MOST) on a computer repair.  So what is a better choice?  Finding small businesses in your area that need high-level, sophisticated IT planning and services very regularly.  

You Won’t Make a Profit with National Service Providers

When you are a subcontractor for a national service organization, you won’t be able to efficiently run your business.  You will be in eight different offices each day instead of one or two.  You will be told that you only get $65 for even a complicated, lengthy computer repair instead of billing out at $100 or even $150 per hour.  It’s just not practical, and your computer repair business can’t last that way!

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Start Small with IT Support Contracts

You want to start with approachable small business sizes that work with your particular skill set.  You will probably want to target those with 10 – 30 PCs and one or two servers.  They will not be dealing with WAN connections and will mostly use Windows and Office.  Don’t get into larger small businesses until you get your feet wet.  

Communication is Key to IT Support Contracts

You have to stay in contact with customers regularly through e-mails, phone calls or drop-ins if you want to manage customer expectations and build the kind of relationships expected with IT support contracts.  You will most likely be in touch at least twice a month.  

Surveys Can Help Evaluate Service Agreements

If you sent surveys regularly (once a year or more!) to gauge the success of the IT support contract relationships you develop, you will get a better idea of how to build your business.  Send surveys a couple months before renewal and even as much as twice a year or quarterly.  You can make surveys informal, but you need to keep asking how you can improve and continue to provide stellar service with IT support contracts.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

No.  You want to be proactive and work with people that will take your advice about their IT issues.  You want people on IT service contracts that will make long-term fixes to make their networks reliable and efficient and improve their ROI on IT investments.  You want a set of clients that will work on strategic planning for the future of their businesses.

One-Shot Deals

Professional businesses will require IT service contracts.  You need to make good IT service contracts a critical component to your business in order to build a solid business foundation and get the recurring revenue you need for the future.  

The Importance of IT Service Contracts

IT service contracts give your business real value.  You get recurring revenue, and you get clients that want to work with you.

Why is recurring revenue so important?  Because the clients that want to have long-term relationships with you are the ones that will let you invest and grow your business.  Without long-term, steady IT service contract clients, you can’t truly plan growth or make hiring decisions.  You can’t really make any decisions about the destination of your business.

What Should You Do?

You need to really think about only taking clients that will need IT service contracts and really understand the value of having one.

Blogged By:  Joshua Feinberg

IT Support:  Coordinate Telecommunications Solutions

When it comes to sweet spot clients, you will most likely have to coordinate IT support with a local telephone company.  You will probably work with either a CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier) or an ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier).  Research the types of connections you need and check out dial-up networking solutions.  You also have to be prepared to coordinate tech support with an ISP.

IT Support:  Test

Your firm will probably have to know about vertical industry applications.  You will either have to bring in the vertical applications or test them at the request of your clients before they make an investment.  You are responsible for telling clients how the application will fit into their networks.  

IT Support:  Guru and Employee Training

Whether you want to be involved or not, part of IT support is conducting formal end-user training.  You will probably have to train small groups when you add new applications.  Also be prepared to provide informal training with the internal guru, who in turn can train the rest of the employees about more mundane issues.  

IT Support:  Predict Disaster

Part of IT support is dealing with disaster recovery planning, which includes regular data backup checks, virus scans, power protection and other security items.  Don’t forget that part of IT support is maintenance.

IT Support:  The Main Idea

Your problem-solving and strategic-planning skills are your best tools for clients.  You have to deal with everything IT when it comes to clients, write it down and really get organized so you can take a proactive stance with IT support.  

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit

The first thing to take into consideration when forming a service level agreement is anticipating how often you need to be on-site.  You need to know your time commitment in terms of taking care of their needs.  How many phone calls, how many emails, or things like that is the client going to need in between visits?

Example:

If you have a client with five work stations and one server, you will probably be on-site once a month for two or three hours.  Additionally, you will probably provide an hour or so of phone support over the course of the month.

So for your service level agreement you should figure on providing about four or five hours a month to take care of on-site and phone support as well as all the miscellaneous follow up issues that emerge.  Remember too, with service level agreements, if the client has any upgrades or projects, that is above and beyond the agreement.  

The second consideration is how to sell a service level agreement.  Essentially you need to give clients a compelling package of benefits.  Here are some examples:

• If your rate is $125 an hour then if they have a $500 per month service level agreement, your rate effectively drops to $100 an hour.  

• In addition to the hourly savings, service level agreements should also include your being available to come onsite for emergencies.

• Consider offering a service level agreement that provides weekend or evening work without charging them extra.  

• Include a little bit of proactive maintenance to clients on service level agreements.  

Bottom Line on Service Level Agreements
Your main consideration with service level agreements is to anticipate how much time a client will typically need based on their applications and servers. The second issue to address is how you will get clients onto service level agreements in the first place.  Offering a package of soft benefits above and beyond just the dollar benefits, is the best way to entice clients to sign up for a service level agreement.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to Service Level Agreements. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about Service Level Agreements, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business. 

Why do computer consultants think they should charge less for phone support in the first place?  Well, they say, gee, there’s no travel time, no gas, no mileage, no tolls, and no parking.  They think, I can even provide some of this phone support on days when I’m working in the office at home and I’m sitting in my sweats.  

But if you think about it, this just sets you up to lose money.  What are the types of things people call for phone support about?  Aren’t most of their phone support issues things that probably should be done on site, by you anyway? Is it really a good idea to be walking people through certain tasks and projects over the phone?  

Most of the time, what you are providing through phone support is more appropriately done by you either remotely or at their business.  If you start providing services using phone support but charging less for it, what you are doing is creating an incentive for your clients to use phone support more often. In order to maintain good control, you need to be doing the work yourself.  

The other issue with two tiered pricing for phone support is that it creates a confusing billing process.  You never want to introduce a second billing rate for a client.  Your proposals will be more difficult, your invoicing will be more difficult, and your accounting will be more difficult.   

Bottom Line on Phone Support
Phone support is just as valuable as any other service you offer. Don’t make the mistake of undervaluing it based on the fact that your overhead is reduced by providing it.  Consider that a bonus for you – one that you don’t pass on to the clients.  When clients see two rates it confuses them and then they start figuring out ways to save themselves money.  Sooner or later, that client is going to be using phone support much more often – you don’t want that.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to Phone Support. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about Phone Support, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

So, if you insist on doing a price-fixed computer maintenance agreement, there are some items you must make sure you cover off.  You want to protect yourself as much as possible and the only way to do that is to write up a good and tight computer maintenance agreement.  

If you don’t have tight provisions, the well-intentioned and even well-trained internal computer guru (the guy you set up as the go-to guy in your absence) will make mistakes.  This guy will cause you to come out to do some computer maintenance on things you didn’t bargain for.  You don’t want to be spending too much time fixing things that shouldn’t have been broken in the first place.

You can’t afford to take that risk, and this is why your computer maintenance agreement must be solid.  Here are some issues to consider when drafting a fixed price agreement for computer maintenance:

• Will training be included?
• Are you responsible if an ASP goes down?
• Are you responsible for expansion as the company grows?
• Are you responsible if they get hit by a fire or flood?
• Are you responsible for computer maintenance if someone hacks into their system?
• Are you responsible for ISP or phone company outages or issues with the web and/or email hosting companies?    
• Does your computer maintenance agreement cover issues arising from office politics or crossfire? Trust us, this happens!
• Does your computer maintenance cover patches, updates and upgrades?
• What happens if there’s pirated software?
• Have you built in computer maintenance time to cover user error or even negligence on the part of users or the guru?
• What happens if there’s internal sabotage, theft, or unauthorized software downloads?
• Are you taking into account viruses and worms in the computer maintenance agreement?   

Bottom Line on Computer Maintenance
Before considering offering price-fixed computer maintenance, you have to think about all these issues.  If you don’t cover off the contingencies, clients that have fixed price computer maintenance agreements will shift every burden under the sun to you.  You can’t afford to absorb those costs so think long and hard about offering price fixed computer maintenance.  

In this article, you’ve been introduced to Computer Maintenance. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about Computer Maintenance, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business. 

Read on to find out how one of our computer consultants was able to benefit by implementing service agreements:

"Mentally I progressed from a one man band working out of a garage to professional business to business technology solutions provider working as part of a client’s organization. I have had the Computer Consulting Kit for 6 weeks or so and it told me things I already knew but never realized I knew it. It therefore gave me belief in my product which has meant I can comfortably add value to my services and charge for time I was giving away before. It’s too early to put a dollar figure on related revenue though I have, however, amended my contracts and have had 2 takers so far which restructures my time, which in turn will generate more income."
Nigel Webb, Xytec Services Ltd
Sittingbourne, Kent, UK

The Bottom Line about Service Agreements

To learn more about service agreements, click here now to get access to free tips and an audio training excerpt on service agreements.

Read on to find out how one of our computer consultants was able to grow his business by implementing service agreements:

"We moved from a ‘break-fix’ mentality to booking clients on some level of a monthly service agreement. It gave us the confidence to approach our clients… and the forms, etc. to look professional. This earned us $20,000."

Kevin Smith, Solutions Unlimited
Spartanburg, South Carolina

The Bottom Line about Service Agreements

To learn more about service agreements, click here now to get access to free tips and an audio training excerpt on service agreements.

Read on to find out how one of our computer consultants was able to substantially add to his billing by using service agreements:

"Thanks to the support and insights of Joshua Feinberg’s Computer Consulting Kit, we have been able to bill nearly 350K this year. This year, we began to use the service agreements portion of the Computer Consulting Kit and have really exceeded our expectations. It has been challenging but rewarding. The Computer Consulting Kit helped us to have the courage and skills to approach existing clients and ask for the agreements. Many clients are willing to sign an agreement if you have a good approach and can explain the benefits to them.  The Computer Consulting Kit helped us to structure the agreements in such a way. RTS has increased revenue by nearly 100K this year, and much of that ($50,000) can be attributed to having a service agreement in place with several clients. Thanks Joshua!!"

Tony Snider, RTS Computer Services
Placerville, California

The Bottom Line about Service Agreements

To learn more about service agreements, click here now to get access to free tips and an audio training excerpt on service agreements.

When you have a bunch of clients who all have an emergency of some sort you can’t be everywhere at once.  To deal with this you need to narrow down the list of who you are obligated to respond to emergencies for.  You do this by creating computer service contracts.

A service contract business model is so important because what you are doing is forcing the people you service to make a decision.  Are you in or are you out?  Your service contract model weeds out those who are just testing the waters.  Without a computer service contract it is you who decides if you can handle their emergency or not.

By using computer service contracts you can manage everyone’s expectations effectively.  Those who have a service contract know they are top priority.  Those who don’t, know that you have clients with service contracts and that they are the ones who are dealt with first.

The Bottom Line on Service Contracts
Service contracts keep expectations in a nice neat package.  You don’t have to stress about trying to be everything to everyone.  You can concentrate on providing top quality service to those clients you have a service contract with.  The rest will simply have to wait in line.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to service contracts. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about service contracts, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Read on to find out how one of our computer consultants was able to increase his monthly billing substantially by using quality service agreements:

"I got more customers on service contracts instead of ‘pay as you go’. This generated at least another $2,000 per month ($24,000 annualized) that we would not have been receiving. We used the Computer Consulting Kit’s service agreement for all our customers. This saved us untold hours in trying to put one together ourselves."

Peter Till, Huff Technologies, Inc
Jacksonville, Florida

The Bottom Line about Service Agreements

To learn more about service agreements, click here now to get access to free tips and an audio training excerpt on service agreements.

Read on to find out how service agreements saved a lot of money for one of our computer consultants:

"I was able to package and sell service agreements easily with the help of the materials provided by Joshua Feinberg’s Computer Consulting Kit. Keeping track of what I just sold was an entirely different matter. Before this, I had lost literally thousands and thousands of dollars in unbilled agreements and services because I didn’t really know how to manage them properly. This (doing this the right way) gained me $30,000."

Jason West, Eulera Networks, Inc.
Laguna Hills, California

The Bottom Line about Service Agreements

To learn more about service agreements, click here now to get access to free tips and an audio training excerpt on service agreements.